Dargle to Dargle

I arrived in Milan on a freezing November evening after a day of car trouble, where I met Marilù, my Air BnB host. Marilu lives in a beautiful classic apartment building in the historic centre of Milan, near the Duomo. She greeted me with a hug as I stood outside the small cafe on the […]

After my day in Perugia I continued north, to Maranello, famous as the home of Ferrari. Giulia was humming along the Autostrada very happily for the short commute. I found my Air BnB in the hills of Serramazzoni, not far from Maranello. The next morning I headed out to see the museums of Ferrari and […]

Soriano was a great rest stop in Italy, but I was determined to continue northwards, and my next stop was the walled city of Perugia, in Central Italy. I hadn’t read much about Perugia, but I was excited to explore a new town. On the road I found a little roadside garage where the sweetest […]

After a few days in Rome I was looking for somewhere to enjoy a little R&R, and I left the city in the early evening, heading into the hills of Central Italy. About 40 minutes outside Rome, along narrow roads winding into wooded hills is the town of Soriano Nel Camino, in the province of […]

I arrived in Rome in the late afternoon to the notorious Roman rush hour, which after my training on the streets of Dar es Salaam and Addis Ababa was no problem. It was bizarre to drive around the landmarks and monuments with which one becomes so familiar through films and photographs. I drove around the […]

After a night on a ferry from Greece to Italy I finally touched down on Italian soil, Giulia was home after 51 years. I arrived in the south-eastern town of Bari. I did my usual bits of preparation for arriving in a new country. I had a cup of coffee and organised an Italian sim […]

My Alfa and I arrived in Athens on a sunny Friday afternoon after a lazy drive over the hills from Lavrio. So far my European road trip was going very well and I was eager to find a hotel for the night and settle in. Despite it being winter in Greece it was still warm […]

It seems the routes available to overlanders grow less numerous every year as political instability and violence continue to creep across Africa and The Middle East. Years ago it was safe enough to travel overland through Jordan and Syria to reach Turkey, now that is no longer a possibility. Initially I had planned to take […]

Israel has a really strong car culture, but it seems Alfa Romeo has a huge following there. It had been a while since I had last seen another Alfa but as soon as I arrived in Israel I began to spot them in the streets again. The Israeli Alfa Romeo club is very active, and […]

After a week of R&R in sunny Tel Aviv I set my sights eastwards towards Jerusalem. I had recently finished reading Jerusalem: The Biography by Simon Montefiore and my interest was peaked. Jerusalem had been the centre of the world at points, and the events that took place in that city have touched on almost […]

I arrived at the Taba/Eilat border post in the late afternoon. I was worn down after a difficult few weeks on the road, not stopping much on my march north from Nairobi. My time in Egypt had not been a happy one and I was eager to get to Israel. I had planned to stay […]

My day off in Aswan had been my first non-driving day since leaving Nairobi. It was a nice opportunity to rest up a little, and do some travel basics such as laundry. But the mood in Aswan wasn’t great for travellers, so I set my sights on the Israeli border at Eilat. I got an […]

Just north of the Sudanese border town of Wadi Halfa there is a new land border connecting Sudan and Egypt. This is a recent development and until a couple of years ago all overland travellers had to use the infamous Wadi Halfa – Aswan ferry, and the cars would follow a few days later on a […]

After the longest night of my life and a long drive through the desert I arrived in Khartoum, Sudan’s capital city at the confluence of the Nile. The Alfa had been struggling in the heat and the traffic. The poor quality fuel and the 50 degree heat caused it to ping very easily. I had […]

A few hours after I arrived at the Goha Hotel Tarek, who I had met in Bahir Dar, arrived as well, he was also heading to Sudan the following morning, so we decided we’d head out together, with one other car, in the morning. I had a good dinner and I good night’s rest before […]

This is the blog covering the Dargle to Dargle expedition, a 15 000 mile journey in a vintage Alfa Romeo across the world. Check out the different pages for posts from the expedition, photographs and videos.